Ferguson Collapses in Court After Scorning Insanity Plea

By PETER MARKS,

Published: August 20, 1994

MINEOLA, L.I., Aug. 19—
A dispute over Colin Ferguson's mental state took several bizarre turns today, as he told a Nassau County judge in a rambling discourse that he rejected his lawyers' efforts to have him declared mentally unfit to stand trial, and then, moments later, collapsed and had to be dragged from court.

His lawyers, William M. Kunstler and Ronald L. Kuby, said that Mr. Ferguson's behavior in court provided only a superficial glimpse of the mental instability that they say has made it nearly impossible for them to construct any kind of defense for their client, who is accused of killing six people and wounding 19 others on a Long Island Rail Road train last December.

But the judge, Donald E. Belfi of Nassau County Court, in effect sided with Mr. Ferguson, refusing the lawyers' request to reconsider his competence to stand trial. Judge Belfi ordered the lawyers to notify the court by Sept. 19 of their intention to mount a psychiatric defense, or forfeit the chance.

The judge also ordered unsealed a report on Mr. Ferguson that was prepared by a court-appointed psychiatrist and psychologist three weeks after the Dec. 7 shootings. In that report, the experts concluded that Mr. Ferguson "is able to understand the charges against him and to cooperate with his attorney, and is malingering in an attempt to create an impression that he is unable to do so." Refusing to Be Interviewed

Mr. Kunstler and Mr. Kuby said they asked for a review of Mr. Ferguson's competence because he had become increasingly irrational and had repeatedly refused to be interviewed by the psychiatrist they had retained. The lawyers say they still plan a psychiatric defense, but without Mr. Ferguson's cooperation, prosecutors will be able to persuade the judge to disallow an insanity defense.

"They're going to be in the crazy position of fighting for a crazy man's right to put on an impossible defense," Mr. Kunstler told reporters after the hearing.

Judge Belfi said he had sent a psychiatrist to examine Mr. Ferguson at the Nassau County Jail this week, but the defendant refused to talk to him. "There is no way to force the defendant to see the doctors," the judge said. He then turned to Mr. Ferguson and asked him a series of questions to determine how much he understood of the proceedings.

Under New York law, defendants must meet two standards to be considered competent: they must understand the proceedings and be able to assist in their defense. Those declared incompetent can be confined in a psychiatric hospital until a judge finds their mental condition has improved and declares that they are competent for trial. When a psychiatric defense is used, a defendant declared competent can be found not guilty by reason of insanity and sentenced to a psychiatric hospital.

Mr. Ferguson told the judge that he "absolutely" understood the charges against him. 'To Perpetrate Injustices'

"Do you know who the prosecutor is?" Judge Belfi asked.

"I suspect it's the most impressive Mr. Peck," Mr. Ferguson replied, referring to George Peck, a Nassau County Assistant District Attorney. When asked what Mr. Peck's role was, Mr. Ferguson said, "To perpetrate injustices against me."

Judge Belfi repeatedly tried to prevent Mr. Ferguson from elaborating, but occasionally he ignored the judge and continued talking. At one point, he recounted what he said was a conversation with a police officer who was escorting him to the Nassau County Jail.

"He said, 'Mr. Ferguson, I hope they're treating you well in the Nassau County Jail,' " Mr. Ferguson told the court. "I said, 'Why is this of concern to you?' He said, 'You realize someone else, in fact, was actually responsible for the shooting.' "

As the judge ended his questions and adjourned the hearing, Mr. Ferguson complained that he hadn't finished. "I vigorously object to your ending this matter," he said, as guards placed him in handcuffs. "No one is going to force me to have a psychiatric defense."

Mr. Ferguson then exclaimed, "They have made it too tight," and collapsed to the floor. About a half dozen guards grabbed the defendant, his body limp, and dragged him from the courtroom.

While his lawyers say his behavior reflected mental imbalance, the psychiatric report unsealed today says that months ago Mr. Ferguson may have been feigning mental illness.

Noting that Mr. Ferguson had no history of psychiatric hospitalization or outpatient treatment, Dr. Allen Reichman, the psychiatrist who examined him, said, that his assertions of conspiracies against him were "vague and somewhat evasive."

"This is not characteristic of systematized paranoid delusional thinking, which is by its nature extremely detailed and highly focused," the doctor wrote.

Photo: Colin Ferguson, center, struggling with court officers yesterday in Mineola, L.I., after telling a Nassau County judge that he rejected his lawyers' efforts to have him declared mentally unfit to stand trial. He then collapsed and had to be dragged from court. (WNYW-TV)